Opel Denies It Plans to Cut 1,000 Jobs

General Motors Co.'s Opel unit dismisses a news report that the company intends to shed one-third of the 3,300 administrative positions at its headquarters in Russelsheim, Germany, as part of its sweeping restructuring.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung cited two unidentified members of Opel's supervisory board who say the company is considering a buyout scheme to convince 1,000 employees to leave voluntarily. The newspaper reported in July that Opel Chairman Steve Girsky wanted to shrink its European administrative staff by 2,400 people, including about 500 senior managers.

Opel says it is negotiating with European labor representatives about reducing labor costs, but no decisions have been made about staff cuts. The unit's top labor leader confirms that, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

GM has said it will close an Opel assembly plant in Bochum, Germany, after 2016. But the company is seeking a labor pact that would allow it to shutter the facility sooner, according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cites anonymous sources who say GM also wants to expand a buyout plan at Bochum to hourly and salaried workers at its other German factories.

The company aims to finalize the restructuring plan by the time it reports third-quarter results on Oct. 31, the Journal says.